Assessment in Physical Education Flashcards
what is the purpose of assessment
the primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning (Lund and Kirk 2019)
how does OFSTED define ‘very good’ assessment
- ‘pupils are helped to judge their own work and to set targets for improvement’
- but criticises that in schools frequently:
- ‘assessment does not sufficiently inform teaching and learning’
what are some questions and concerns people have
- how many students can clearly articulate what they have learnt in their last physical education lesson
- what their personal learning goals are for the remainder of the school term
- how well do parents, carers or head teachers understand learning expectations and student achievement in physical education
- how, if at all, does assessment support government agendas for life long participation
- what should assessment in physical education focus on
- is assessment in physical educations fair
- what forms of assessment are most appropriate in physical education? and likely to be effective?
- who should be involved in assessment in physical educations, and in what ways?
(Penney 2020)
what are the two main types of assessment
- assessment FOR learning (formative)
- assessment OF learning (summative)
what is assessment FOR learning (formative)
- assess = ‘to sit beside’
- systematically gathering evidence from a variety of sources
- providing students with feedback for improvement
- (PE teachers are always assessing - why?)
what is assessment OF learning (summative)
- evaluate - make ‘judgement’
- judging quality of work based on established criteria
- assigning a value to represent that quality
- used for grading, reporting and selection - providing accountability
what are the purposes of assessment
- two key purposes
- accountability for achievement
- parents, school, politicians/government, etc
- promotion of learning
- accountability for achievement
why does assessment need to be fair and equitable
assessment has a significant impact on learner motivation
what are the quality criteria for assessment
- validity
- alignment with curriculum
- credibility/authenticity of task
- reliability
- objectivity
- usefulness/purpose
- economy/feasibility
what are some challenges for PE
- practical performances: immediacy/simultaneity/large numbers
- should capture learning within, but also across strands and domains of learning
- assessment may be ongoing, multi-activity or single activity
- exceptional students may need a variety of alterations, students with SEN will need alterations to activities, criteria and scales
what types of performance based assessments do PE use
- development and execution
- e.g. performing a specific skill according to given criteria
- process assessments
- e.g. competitive game situation in which numerous decisions and changes in direction are made
why are assessments criticised in PE
- PE is frequently criticised for over-emphasising practical assessments
- assessments of the psycho-motor domain to the detriment of other learning outcomes
what is the process for a summative assessment
- understanding the curriculum
- designing the assessment task
- collecting the evidence
- recording the evidence of student learning
- evaluating - making the judgement
- completing the assessment report
what are the 4 main aspects of a curriculum
- aims/outcomes
- domains of learning
- pedagogy and content
- assessment
what are the defining criteria of success
- evaluation
- synthesis
- analysis
- application
- comprehension
- knowledge
how to design an assessment task
- focus on essential learning and expectations
- what is it that we actually want to assess in PE
- determine the nature of knowledge/skill/attitude to be assessed
- what evidence is required - use a variety of assessment tasks to gather evidence
- provide students with clear targets, opportunities to meet expectations
- use achievement level descriptors as a guide for gathering evidence
what are different ways you can collect evidence
- skill demonstration (performance)
- games play (performance)
- ‘core tasks’ (performance and evaluation)
- journal, quiz, test
- case study, debate, discussion
- fitness profile/log, graphic organiser
- conference
- project, presentation
- role play
- written or verbal responses to questioning
- (E)-portfolios, pictures, videos, blogs, etc
what are the different assessment strategies
- what may students be doing?
- need for breadth and variety of activities to ensure fairness and authenticity
- focus on learning rather than performance
what are the authentic-complex assessments
- culminating tasks (Lund and Veal 2013)
- core tasks (Casbon and Spackman 2005; QCA 2007)
- rich tasks (McPhail and Halbert 2010)
- enhanced assessment portfolios: australia (ACARA 2018)
- can digitial technologies help with this?
how can a teacher collect evidence for assessment
- target setting/recording instruments
- assessment matrices/scales/rubrics
- marking schemes
- observation checklists
- video analysis
how may achievement be demonstrated
- units or topics will relate to the (balanced) program you develop (e.g. basketball, trampolining, fitness etc) - fair
- some expectations will require year long assessment (e.g. fair play, participation etc)
- some expectations will be most appropriately addressed in only one topic or unit (e.g. healthy eating)
how can you evaluate and make a judgement
- this generally involves determining the highest most consistent level of achievement
however: - confounding factors to capturing student progress/achievement:
- time / quantity / quality of learning opportunities
what are the wider learning skills that are being developed
- independent work
- initiative
- homework completion
- use of information
- cooperation with others
- conflict resolution
- class participation
- problem solving
- goal setting
what are the benefits of the curriculum being based year by year
- supports coherence across subjects
- encourages ‘high reliability’ teaching
what are the drawbacks of the curriculum being based year by year
- restricts freedom for teachers to plan different sequences
- promotes (requires?) atomisation of curriculum
what are the benefits of the curriculum being based by each key stage
- allows teachers to plan different sequences
- encourages a focus on ‘big ideas’
what are the drawbacks of the curriculum being based by each key stage
- difficult to ensure strong cross curricular links
- allows unnecessary differentiation
what critical thoughts need to happen when planning a curriculum
- ‘what signals ability or lack of it in any given physical education context?’
- ‘what skills, knowledge and understandings does assessment in physical education at any phase of schooling acknowledge?’ and
- ‘how can students demonstrate those skills, knowledge and understandings?’
what are the different ways assessment could be managed in PE
- norm-referenced assessment
- against peer group
- criteria-referenced assessment
- set criteria
- referenced against individuals progress
- distance travelled, considering circumstances, socially just?
what are the socio-cultural perspectives on assessments
- contextualise learning with the learner, their background, ability, circumstances
- appreciate the students strengths and weaknesses in relationship to their previous learning and line with contextualising factors
- describe/emphasise the students achievement rather than simply listing it in relation to the curriculum taught
- might use qualitative commentary, rather than ‘levels of achievement’
- emphasise the value of assessment for learning
- describe the ‘next steps’, giving encouragement and concrete suggestions for student
- emphasise social justice and alternatives views of valid outcomes for PE
how can a teacher take ownership of assessment
- be open to reciprocal learning with students as well as peers (learning community)
- the teacher does not have to ‘own’ the assessment
- students are an important part of the process
